Montney reserve takes centre stage

Energy Minister Bill Bennett says B.C.’s Shale Gas reserves are front and centre at an international summit in Montreal.

In an interview with the Vancouver Sun, Bennett says he was impressed that the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, spent about a third of a keynote speech talking about B.C.’s shale gas reserves.

In the speech, the CEO said Shell is now producing enough gas in the Groundbirch region to meet the needs of more than 400,000 homes. The company has 175 producing wells in the region and sees potential to increase that to 250 wells per year.

Even with those numbers, the company believes they are still in the early stages of development in Groundbirch.

Royal Dutch Shell’s CEO Peter Voser also noted technology has touch off what he calls a "natural gas supply revolution that has increased energy security for North America. And that has the potential to alter the energy landscape for the world as a whole."

Bennett says the speech was his first inkling that people in the international oil and gas community know where British Columbia is – or if they didn’t before, they certainly do now.